How Low is the Air Quality In Your Home, And How Can You Fix It?

Everyone knows what HVAC stands for — heating and air conditioning systems — right? It’s easy to take the Ventilation part of HVAC for granted, but without it, your home wouldn’t be able to circulate warm or cool air at all.

But having a well ventilated home is crucial for another important reason — your family’s health. Our Huntsville heating and cooling experts have seen many older homes in the Alabama area with HVAC designs more than 30 to 50 years old, which means the vents are practically useless.

Not only does this waste energy and money by venting cool air from the AC straight into the attic, basement, or outside, but it can leave the front door wide open for mold, allergens, bacteria, dust mites, and all manner of creeping, crawling things. So not only are you slowly paying a fortune in unnecessary utility bills, but you’re also destroying the air quality inside your home. And if you have pets or smokers in your household, those problems will get even worse.

If you live in an older home or you simply aren’t sure about your home’s HVAC design, here are some fast facts to consider:

• Heating and air conditioning repair experts say that proper attic ventilation reduced HVAC energy costs by 10-12% on average.
• Improperly installed HVAC systems increase those energy costs by as much as 30%.
• While you’re supposed to replace AC filters every three months, many homeowners go years without doing so.
• The average couch can contain up to 10,000 dust mites!

During the winter months, many homeowners leave the doors and windows shut tight for months on end. Without an efficient and well-maintained ventilation system, the air quality in your home will get worse and worse, exacerbating things like allergies, asthma, and even quality of life.

And just like a driver might not notice when their own car slowly starts to smell, you may not realize a steady drop in the quality of your home’s air. So if you live in an older home, often forget to change your AC filters, or are concerned about your air quality, then it’s time to consider an upgrade to your home HVAC design.

Recently, many homeowners are investing in electric air filters, which ionize the air to attract contaminants to a metal plate with an opposing charge. Combined with humidifiers and a quality duct system, you can restore the quality of the air you and your family breathe every day.